RFK Jr launches crackdown on kratom, ‚legal morphine‘ often found in smoke shop products

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. “Bottom line is the product sold by the company Botanic Tonics is really dangerous, and I’m glad that we’re no longer going to be selling the product ‘feel free’ in the state of Utah,” he said. Now that the partial ban is going into effect, McKell said he intends to keep an eye on the issue, hoping for a full ban. “Even if feel free falls within the federal definition of a dietary supplement and does not meet statutory criteria for being deemed to be adulterated, these federal statutes do not require that feel free be sold,” the court wrote in its decision.

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It's in this weird, limbo area, and so drug regulators have tried to deal with it here and in other countries. It doesn't fall under the purity requirements for either herbal supplements or drugs. There's not a lot of financial incentive for a company to spend several hundred million or a billion dollars to try and get this approved as a drug, so that's not going to happen. Kroll also adds that a new paper just published looking at 551 deaths in huntington blogs Florida where mitragynine was detected post-mortem.

Kratom – Uses, Side Effects, and More

That's why the general feeling in the kratom consumer community is that the powder is kind of self-limiting, whereas these concentrated products can get you into trouble. This is what gives kratom its opioid-like, pain-relieving and euphoric effects. The leaves from a tree native to Southeast Asia, kratom is an herbal medicine with effects similar to opioids. In May, Colorado's governor signed the Daniel Bregger Act into law, named after a young man who died from a toxic combination of a highly-concentrated product of the active psychoactive ingredient found in kratom and a common allergy drug. A compound that makes up a tiny portion of the kratom leaf has generated concern in recent years, as herbal products derived from the leaf but synthesized in labs to market more potent versions have contributed to calls to poison centers and high profile deaths.

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When kratom was combined with other substances, such as illegal drugs or antidepressants, hospitalizations increased nearly 1,300%, from 40 to 549. Researchers say the rapid increase — including a significant spike last year — is tied to wider availability of kratom and the growing strength of newer products. “You have things like mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, which is not found in the kratom leaf,” he said. Although only present in small amounts in the leaves of kratom, 7-OH is produced by the body as a byproduct of mitragynine, the primary psychoactive alkaloid in kratom. That all changed around 2015, with the introduction of a second wave of “enhanced” kratom products. Most users aren’t seeking a caffeine-like boost—they’re looking for the opioid-like effects to manage pain or avoid prescription opioids.

The kratom leaf, native to Southeast Asia, has been the center of controversy nationally. That means that even if federal law allows kratom supplements like “feel free,” the company is able to comply with Utah regulations “by simply declining to sell feel free in Utah.” Botanic Tonic’s “feel free” tonic mixes kratom and kava root, which according to the new law, will be illegal to sell in Utah as it combines kratom with a “nonkratom” substance.

• Watch this page for clearance and flash-sale pricing on individual products.
• Because of these effects and the ease with which the product can be purchased in retail settings, kratom has sometimes been referred to as “gas station heroin.” As concerns over the use of kratom continue to rise across the nation, the landscape of kratom policy has been evolving rapidly.
• Herbal products like kratom naturally contain many different chemicals.
• From our premium single-strain capsules to the Three Leaf value line, we hold every product to the same testing standard.
• A small number of deaths have been connected to the use of kratom, most commonly when mixed with other substances.

Hospital workers and public health officials say new combinations of street drugs, traumatic brain injuries and other health issues could be driving the uptick in seizures. Kratom and 7-OH may be marketed as herbal supplements, but they function like opioids — shaping how clinicians treat addiction. As kratom and 7-OH use grows, clinicians are developing protocols for addiction treatment Others seek out kratom or its derivatives to help deal with mental health symptoms, or for energy. But in the years since, the popularity of kratom — and its synthetic derivatives — has spread. Stanciu saw one patient who advanced from kratom to 7-OH to mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, in search of greater potency.

Kratom leaf companies have tried to distinguish themselves as wholly different from 7-OH manufacturers, who disagree with such delineations. The same allure pushed it into gyms, weight rooms and combat sports, where athletes look for ways to increase endurance and ease painful injuries. “That right there is legal pain medicine,” Clarke said. At the time of his arrest in April, Clarke had a THC vape pen on him and a prescription for a painkiller often used for sports injuries, according to the dashcam audio. “Because the partnership carried the league’s endorsement, some players understandably viewed that as a signal that the product had been appropriately vetted,” Jacobs said.

Kratom, in some forms, is currently banned in six states. "That's how they're marketed. They're wellness drinks. And we're just seeing that people are developing, very quickly, addictive behaviors and very severe withdrawal very fast." Buprenorphine is often used to treat heroin addiction. "It looks very much like any other form of opioid use disorder," said Dr. Nemanich.

The ingredient is being used in products that are becoming increasingly available to purchase online and at smoke shops, the agency warned. Poison control centers in the U.S. received more than 3,400 reports about the use of kratom from 2014 to 2019, according to the Mayo Clinic. “Its availability is a cause for concern since Los Angeles residents might use kratom without a full understanding of its risks,” the statement read. Other states are working on legislation that would tighten kratom regulations that include testing, age restrictions and labeling. Some states, including Arizona, Minnesota and Texas, prohibit the sale of products with 7-OH to minors.

USA TODAY spoke with more than 20 people who say they became severely addicted to kratom − a plant ingredient found in products sold at gas stations, liquor stores and smoke shops across the country by various companies. “You market kratom products for the treatment or cure of opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms. "For years, opponents of kratom have attempted to portray natural kratom leaf as a public health threat," said Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the American Kratom Association (AKA), an association of kratom vendors. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s launching a federal crackdown on 7-OH — the synthetic byproduct of the kratom plant — it’s dangerous. The largest number of kratom bills that have been introduced this legislative session do not look to ban or schedule the substance, but instead add regulations for how kratom and kratom-related products can be made and sold in the state. Though the legislature is considering more permanent solutions, Ohio has enacted an emergency rule, expiring in June 2026, that bans synthetic kratom products.